Calorie counting is one of the most popular but least effective ways for losing weight. If you stick to 1,500 calories per day, and you eat ice cream, 100 calorie snack packs, coffee cake, and pasta, you’ll find it hard to lose weight.
While you can strategically plan on eating the list of foods I mentioned and stay under 1,500 calories, you’re body is not going to be releasing your body fat.
The problem with eating the foods I listed, is that they’re very processed and they provide little to no nutrients for your body. You’ll literally turn your body into a fat storing machine.
Something that I recommend members to keep an eye on constantly is not the calories of the foods they eat, but more importantly the quality.
Members who have success losing weight, increasing their energy levels, reducing inflammation, and really taking their health to the next level, are eating the highest quality foods possible, and eating until their bodies are satisfied.
All of the foods we recommend are low in sugar, high in protein, and high in healthy fats. However, when you are looking at a food to figure out if you should eat it or not, you must look at the label.
The ingredients are important, and hopefully you know some ingredients that you should never eat, but you also want to check the nutrition facts of the label.
If a food is loaded with sugar, then you’ll want to avoid it because lot’s of sugar drives weight gain and fatigue. Look at a simple container of orange juice. 22g of sugar is in 1 serving of 11.
That means the total container of orange juice contains 242g of sugar. That is way to much sugar to be drinking. So label reading for sugar content I believe is important. It’s also important to find foods that are high in protein.
If you’re a Slim Down Smart member, then you already have an entire list in our complete manual, showing you what foods have the most protein, and which foods have the most sugar that you should avoid.
So it’s not the calories. It’s the quality of foods you eat. Orange juice is a low quality drink that you should avoid unless you drink it in moderation and you fresh squeeze it.
Let’s go back to my example from the beginning and create 2 scenarios of eating…
Option 1: You eat a slice of coffee cake for 178 calories, 1 cup of pasta for lunch for 221 calories, ice cream for a snack at 145 calories, and a slice of pizza for dinner which is 168 calories.
Option 1 has a total of 712 calories, but cravings can get the best of you and you’ll likely be back for seconds in option 1 at all servings of food. Now let’s look at day number 2.
Option 2: 3 Egg omelet for 282 calories, 1 cup quinoa for 223 calories, 1 apple for 116 calories, and 2 cups turkey chili for 400 calories.
Option 2 has a total of 1,021 calories…
Which day do you think is more effective for reducing inflammation, increasing your energy levels, and losing weight? If you picked option 2, you’re correct. Option 1 has too many processed, starchy, and fat storing foods.
The main culprit is your blood sugar levels. Option 1 will constantly keep your blood sugar levels high. This can lead to type 2 diabetes, fatigue, cravings, inflammation, and many other health complications.
Option 2 is full of healthy whole foods that have lots of protein to keep you fuller for longer and keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Option 2s foods will nourish your body and become utilized by your body for fuel.
You must focus on the quality of foods you eat, not the amount of calories in the foods you eat. If anyone says they’re losing weight by counting calories, the underlying reason is because they’ve also increased the quality of foods they eat.
Counting calories can also be a lot of work. Writing down every calorie and tracking all the food in a recipe can be very tough. However, thinking about quality and making smarter food decisions is the best way to set yourself up for long term success. ')}
